Radical Terrorism is Spreading Like a Plague to Different Regions of the Wold

It’s been noted time and time again that extremist terrorist groups are shifting their main targets from the Middle East – where they have suffered heavy losses – to other parts of the world.

According to the Cheng Guoping, state commissioner for counterterrorism and security matters, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and former vice foreign minister, as progress is being made in the anti-terrorist fight in Syria and Iraq, international terrorism is entering a new phase, in which extremist and terrorist groups are tweaking their strategies, Cheng warned that an ever increasing number of terrorists are penetrating and gathering momentum in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and South Asia.

It’s hardly a secret that ISIS attaches a great deal of importance to the “daulah” – the territories physically controlled by this quasi-state. It was the main advertising points for the Islamic State, due to which it was able to gain new supporters in various regions of the world. Now that the territories controlled by ISIS are doomed to fall, the “good old days” of 2014-2015, when ISIS militants were trying to show that the Islamic State is an invincible force that attracts thousands of fighters every month, have long but passed.

But even when ISIS will lose its “base of operations”, it will not disappear from the face of the earth. Most likely, the militants will find hideouts in the faraway desert and mountain regions and then try to carry on their struggle from there. The grouping will evolve from a quasi-state into a regular terrorist force, but it will not cease its activities.

Salafi jihadism remains fairly popular not only among Islamic radicals, as it’s been indicated by the decade long “popularity” of the numerous branches of Al-Qaeda, but among all sorts of criminals just as well. It remains an advantageous set of believes to adhere for countless smugglers of weapons, artifacts, drugs and other “black merchants”, including slave traders. It’s rather unfortunate that a number of “Western businesses” are getting increasingly involved in this criminal smuggling, since they don’t feel bad about building their commercial and financial wealth by taking part in such dubious activities. Take, for instance, the actions of the Franco-Swiss company LafargeHolcim Group in Syria, which financed the ISIS fighters back in 2012-2014, wishing to ensure safety of their employees, while retaining the chance of continuing its operations in this war-torn country.

In addition to a series of terrorist attacks launched in European countries in recent years, the situation can be seen as an obvious strategic shift on the side of the terrorists, that are trying to expand phere of operations to various Asian states. For instance, since the beginning of this year, the border areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan have been hit by frequent terrorist attacks targeting both civilians and officials, resulting in heavy casualties. The former has been already transformed in a breeding ground for all sorts of small radical groups that are all engaged in the improvised medieval-style “hunt for infidels” that is being carried on in various regions of this troubled state.

Either way, the black plague of terrorism is spreading rapidly. It’s been recently announced that ISIS operatives from Central Asia were implicated in the Ataturk Airport and Reina Nightclub attacks in Istanbul. It’s believed that the airport attack carried out last June was executed by a Chechen, a Kyrgyz and an Uzbek, trained by ISIS. Although it is virtually impossible to confirm how many Kyrgyz, Uzbeks and other Central Asians are fighting for ISIS in Turkey and Syria, The Diplomat reports that most are used for suicide missions.

By recruiting Uzbeks and Kyrgyz to launch terrorist attacks in Turkey, ISIS takes full advantage of the fact that they share common linguistic and cultural features with Turks, so they are capable of infiltrating the Turkish society much better than Arabs. Because of such peculiarities, and also due to the turbulent period these countries had to face in the aftermath of the Soviet Union collapse, Central Asia has become a fertile ground for ISIS recruiter that are rapidly strengthening the positions enjoyed by this terrorist organization in this region.

That is why the fight against ISIS and all forms of radical Islamism in general should not be carried out under the leadership of a single state, no matter how the United States may despise this idea. The only effective way of addressing this challenge is through creating a comprehensive framework under the direct supervision of the UN, that would allow all international players to take their part in defending the people of the Earth from this major threat.